Bad Ragaz is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

It is the home of a famous natural spring and is a popular spa and health resort destination.

Its history was closely linked to that of the Benedictine Pfäfers Abbey, an important monastery dating back perhaps to the eighth century, which was the dominant landholder around the village and the principal rights holder.

The residence of the Prince Abbot of Pfäfers, a building known as the Hof Ragaz served as the premises of the local governor or Statthalter, a position exercised by the Abbey.

One of the most notable events in the local chronicles is the Battle of Ragaz, an episode in the Old Zürich War of the years 1440–1446 fought between the canton of Zürich and the other seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy over which of them should inherit the interests and lands of Count Friedrich VII of Toggenburg, who had died in 1438 intestate and heirless.

This was to lead eventually, in 1937, to a change of name to Bad Bagaz, and increasing orientation of the local economy towards catering for health spa clientel.

Modern-day Ragaz is also proud of the fact that it was the retreat where the Bohemian-Austrian poet and author Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) towards the end of his life reputedly wrote part of his poetic work the Duineser Elegien (Duino Elegies), in particular the seventh Elegy with its famous lines Hiersein ist herrlich... (To be here is splendid ...).

Of the rest of the land, 9.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (10.1%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).

Of the foreign population, (as of 2000[update]), 122 are from Germany, 144 are from Italy, 508 are from ex-Yugoslavia, 59 are from Austria, 1 person is from Turkey, and 312 are from another country.

[9] The historical population is given in the following table:[3] Bad Ragaz is also closely associated with the fictional character Heidi.

[13] The headquarters of the gas analysis, detection, and control instrument manufacturing company INFICON is located in Bad Ragaz.

The wettest month was August during which time Bad Ragaz receives an average of 109 mm (4.3 in) of rain or snow.